I'm really torn on my opinion of this one. My main complaint is quite similar to my issue with Pelecanos' previous novel The Turnaround, in that it was a bit too transparent in trumpeting the importance of Honor and Responsibility and Fathers Having A Catch With Their Sons. Which is a shame, because the story and the characters are compelling enough to convey such points. The author's experience as a writer for The Wire shows through, as he maintains his ability to tell layered crime stories suffused with an all-encompassing sense of geography. Which is why it's so frustrating to hear him telegraph the Meaning of his story with increasingly ham-fisted bits of narration. C'mon, George. If you're going to write a book about learning to trust people, you should be able to do the same thing with your readers. ( )

I'm really torn on my opinion of this one. My main complaint is quite similar to my issue with Pelecanos' previous novel The Turnaround, in that it was a bit too transparent in trumpeting the importance of Honor and Responsibility and Fathers Having A Catch With Their Sons. Which is a shame, because the story and the characters are compelling enough to convey such points. The author's experience as a writer for The Wire shows through, as he maintains his ability to tell layered crime stories suffused with an all-encompassing sense of geography. Which is why it's so frustrating to hear him telegraph the Meaning of his story with increasingly ham-fisted bits of narration. C'mon, George. If you're going to write a book about learning to trust people, you should be able to do the same thing with your readers. ( )

I'm really torn on my opinion of this one. My main complaint is quite similar to my issue with Pelecanos' previous novel The Turnaround, in that it was a bit too transparent in trumpeting the importance of Honor and Responsibility and Fathers Having A Catch With Their Sons. Which is a shame, because the story and the characters are compelling enough to convey such points. The author's experience as a writer for The Wire shows through, as he maintains his ability to tell layered crime stories suffused with an all-encompassing sense of geography. Which is why it's so frustrating to hear him telegraph the Meaning of his story with increasingly ham-fisted bits of narration. C'mon, George. If you're going to write a book about learning to trust people, you should be able to do the same thing with your readers. ( )

Summary: Hidden beneath the floorboards in a house he's remodeling, Christopher Flynn discovers something very tempting-and troubling. Summoning every bit of maturity and every lesson he's learned the hard way, Chris leaves what he found where he found it and tells his job partner to forget it, too. Knowing trouble when he sees it-and walking the other way-is a habit Chris is still learning.
Chris's father, Thomas Flynn, runs the family business where Chris and his friends have found work. Thomas is just getting comfortable with the idea that his son is grown, working, and on the right path at last. Then one day Chris doesn't show up for work-and his father knows deep in his bones that danger has found him. Although he wishes it weren't so, he also knows that no parent can protect a child from all the world's evils. Sometimes you have to let them find their own way home.

My brief review: This is not a thriller or a traditional whodunnit but a story about a boy growing up and trying to find his way in the world and his place in his family. There's is a crime but it is more of a vehicle to illustrate several points including that of the role and result of punishment as doled out by the juvenile justice system. Arguably for some it is a deterrence, for others it is not.

At the heart of this novel is a father son relationship. It's a fractured relationship that was once strong and invigorating to father and son. Thomas Flynn and Chris love each other but have lost respect for each other as Chris grew into a teenager and are no longer able to communicate. Growing up is a difficult time in a young person's life. There are a myriad of pressures to contend with from parents, friends, school and society. Chris rebels against the rules, authority and his father's expectations. Poor judgment and stupid decisions made under the guise of being cool eventually land him in Pine Ridge Juvenile Detention. It might end up being one of the best things that happens to Chris. But not his dad. Thomas Flynn is too concerned with what the neighbors will think and too blind-sided by his determination to make Chris into the son he thinks Chris should be. But even after Chris sheds his bad boy image, starts working for his dad and maintains a low profile, Thomas isn't happy. Chris doesn't understand his father and finds it easier to stay away from his family despite wanting to be able to talk to his father. But he's also thinking about starting his own family.

The values and beliefs both Thomas and Chris hold tightly will be tested. They will be forced to reconsider their views of life, each other and human nature. Chris is still young and may be able to build a life he can be proud of that includes his mother and father. Thomas needs to reconcile the things that desperately upset him and come to terms with life before it is too late. And father and son will soon realize how important are the small and large decisions you make for yourselves, your family and your friends. George Pelecanos has given us a captivating story about life and relationships and how the decisions we make in our own lives will effect the lives of those we love. ( )

George Pelecanos in his book "The Way Home" took me inside the hearts, heads and environments of young men in America. The story takes place in Washington D.C. The lives of Chris, Ali, Ben, Lawrence and the other boys is tough and raw. For one reason or another these boys end up in juvenile facilities. While locked up, life is unpredictable and grim. It's almost like living on the streets without anyone to help or protect you. After leaving this place, the boys continue a daily struggle to exist without meeting trouble again.

In "The Way Home" most of the boys are blacks, Hispanics and only a few white boys. Only Chris comes from a two parent home. His father owns a carpeting business. Automatically, Chris has a job waiting for him when he gets out of Pine Ridge. Chris and his dad will give other boys a hand up to make money honestly and to learn a trade. Still, life is unpredictable. Temptation comes from the least expected places. Violence also doesn't always come in the dark, in a bar or in an alley. Violence, in this instance, takes a side route by way of two thugs named Sonny and Wayne in a house that is being redecorated.

Also, there aren't just guys in "The Way Home." There are also girls and women. I think Amanda and Katherine make the hard places softer to land for Chris and Thomas Flynn. This book made me think a lot about the lives of some youths, what they go through every single day in order to survive. I thought about parents like Thomas and Amanda Flynn who try there best and still see failure ahead for their children.

I also thought about Dorita, the young mother in the book. She lies on the couch watching tv, watching her kids and eating chips, drinking sodas. I thought a lot about her past, present and future, especially the future of her son Marquis who wants to grow up to be a scientist. Sadly, no one knows exactly how to get him out of the neighborhood before it's too late.

George Pelecanos pulls no punches in this book. Without one judgmental word he showed me reality. At times I wanted to run from his book. Throw it down and not finish it. Other times I just wanted to cry and close my eyes to reality. Then, at the end, I wanted to act. I wanted to do something to change the ugly places of this world.

I will never forget the characters in "The Way Home" because they are "real" people with different names living in different cities around the country. These people are our future, if we allow each other to live to see a future. ( )